Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's second-half comeback effort fell short Wednesday as the No. 5-seed Islanders lost 83-76 to New Orleans in the Southland Conference Tournament's first round at the Merrell Center in Katy.

Trailing by 14 points at halftime, the Islanders pulled as close as four points during a frantic late rally, but the Privateers hit enough free throws down the stretch to hold of A&M-Corpus Christi.

The Islanders finished 11-18 after winning three of four down the stretch to qualify for the Southland Conference tournament. Willis Wilson guided A&M-Corpus Christi to the conference tournament championship in each of the last two years.

The Islanders went on a 6-0 run in 15 seconds that pulled A&M-Corpus Christi within 76-72 with 1:11 to play.

With a chance to cut further into the lead, Kareem South's 3-pointer from the corner was off and Sean Rhea's putback try in a congested lane missed the mark.

The Islanders could not take advantage of a turnover by UNO and the teams traded points as the Privateers ended A&M-Corpus Christi's run in the tournament for the second season.

The two teams played in the Southland Conference tournament championship game in 2017, a game the Privateers won in overtime.

The 8th-seeded Islanders could not overcome a first half where the No. 5 Privateers shot 68 percent and scored 43 points. A&M-Corpus Christi missed its first 10 shots from distance, before getting hot down the stretch to rally against UNO.

Senior Joseph Kilgore, who earlier this week was named to All-Southland Conference second team, led the Islanders with 29 points in his final game for A&M-Corpus Christi.

Kareem South added 14 points and freshman Myles Smith scored 13.

Smith spurred the Islanders' comeback efforts hitting three of the Islanders' four triples in the second half.

The Privateers shot 57 percent for the game and used a 36-24 rebounding advantage to build a double-digit lead.

A&M-Corpus Christi forced 21 UNO turnovers and rallied while the Privateers struggled to 18 of 29 shooting from the line.

The Islanders improved as the season progressed, forced to play a freshmen and sophomore-laden roster due to injuries.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi will lose seniors Kilgore and Emmanuel Toney, while Ehab Amin is expected to return from injury next season.